New Haven felons stymied by 'the question' (video)

NEW HAVEN -- Kimberly Clark has two years of college, self-described "good work ethics" and an 8-year-old son.

She also has a 10-year-old felony conviction.

Because of that, she says, she's been unable to find steady work.

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"I don't want to be dependent on the Department of Social Services. I want to be self-sufficient," she said.

But prospective employers, she said, "will never know what a hell of a good employee I would be."

Clark was part of a coalition of mothers, community leaders and former inmates at City Hall Tuesday who are seeking support for a state bill that would expand the city's "Ban the Box" ordinance to state employers, granting ex-convicts an opportunity to apply for work without checking the "felon" box on an application.

Like the city's ordinance, the proposed state bill, An Act Concerning Criminal Background Checks for Prospective State Employees, would not entirely eliminate criminal background checks and questions. Those questions would instead be pushed to the end of the hiring process, after a conditional offer of employment has been made.

According to Amy Meek, the city's Prison Re-Entry Initiative Coordinator, more than 50 businesses in the state have confirmed they abide by the city's Ban the Box ordinance. Efforts to determine compliance are ongoing, she said.

"America's strength as a nation is based on some straightforward values, that everyone has an obligation to work, and everyone has a right, a chance, to work," said Mayor John DeStefano Jr. "New Haven understands this. ... We understand we are better when everyone works, and we understand we are better (when) we create these opportunities."

Anthony Deke's AAP Alarm Security Systems has never included a criminal record check on its applications, a nod to Deke's own experience finding work after serving time on a larceny charge.

"I know what it feels like to be rejected. I was once that person," he said. "I'm successful, living proof that we can make it."

While not a question on his applications, Deke said he does later speak to applicants about their backgrounds. Half of his employees have criminal records, he said.

"I do a lot of telemarketing. I train them. I make them do good," he said.

The state bill is making its way through legislative committees. At a hearing in February before the Labor and Public Employees Committee, passions were strong on both sides of the issue.

New Haven mother Audrey Richards testified on behalf of her son, Joseph, who was arrested on a narcotics charge in 2004 when he was 18. He completed his one-year prison sentence and four years of probation in 2009, but his numerous attempts to find work have been thwarted, she testified.

"He was denied employment over and over, and he was always told that because of his felony record, they cannot hire him. ... He would plead to employers for a chance to prove himself; it was to no avail," she testified.

But state Director of Labor Relations Linda Yelmini testified the results of the bill would be "disastrous," claiming the bill could pave the way for convicted child molesters to be hired by the Department of Children and Families and for tax evaders to be hired by the Department of Revenue Service.